I’ll be starting a Work In Progress build here on Tamiya’s 1/32nd Mitsubishi A6M5 Model 52 Zero, which the Allies code-named the “Zeke” during WWII.
I bought this kit back in the middle of 2018 from Hobby Link Japan, as they had the best deal that I could find. I paid about $70 US, including shipping, for this kit. Anywhere else was right at $100, NOT including shipping fees. So, do your research when you wanna buy anything on-line.
I already had (and still do!) the P-51D, Supermarine Spitfire Mk. VIII, and the Chance Vought F4U-1A Corsair in 1/32nd from Tamiya, and wanted the Zero to go along with them. But, now that I had all four of them, which do I build first? I wanted to start the Corsair first, but, with that being my favorite aircraft of all time, and wanting to do a bang-up job on it, and not having built one of Tamiya’s newest 1/32nd scale kits before, I was kinda leery on building it first with no experience on the Tamiya 1/32nd line. Then I saw that a Japanese Group Build was starting up on FineScale Modeler’s website, so that helped me make my decision. The Zeke will be first!
Here’s a photo of the box art. The box isn’t as big as you’d think for a 1/32nd scale aircraft kit. Out of the four Tamiya 1/32nd scale kits that I have, it’s the smallest. I’d guesstimate that it’s about 12″ x 14″, which isn’t too big.
This is an insert that covers everything in the box. It’s designed to become a protective barrier/holder for the completed build so that you can use the original box in which to transport the plane, or store it indefinitely. The seams that you see in the insert are to allow the insert to be folded to fit the fuselage and wings of the plane; you then put it all back in the box, and close the box up with the original top. Pretty ingenious, if you ask me.
Here’s whatcha see once you remove the insert. All parts are nicely packaged in plastic wrapping, and everything is packed in such a way as to protect the parts from damage. The clear parts are well-protected. There are lots of small parts, including metal springs and hinges. Tamiya even includes a Phillips screwdriver to help with the assembly. Ain’t that nice of them.
Wow! A lot of parts. I wish I had laid something next to them to give an idea of the scale. The main landing gear has many separate parts, to include the oleo struts with metal springs so that they have a realistic “bounce” to them, plus they are designed to retract, just like the real thing. Same for the tail wheel, but no spring for it. The tires are rubber as well.
The instruction manual (yep, I said “manual”) is relatively thick. It’s 32 pages, including a couple of pages of very nice detailed photos of three different Zeros on display at different air museums around the world (albeit black-n-white photos). I have the Squadron “Zero In Action” book at home, so that should be enough for reference photos. Really looking forward to getting started on this build. Hope y’all enjoy the build. Hope to have an update very soon.